CHILD LABOR

 The  term “child labor” is often used to cover a multitude of situations: from bonded labor to part-time work on the family farm. It is useful to clarify who classifies as a “child” and what activities count as “labor”. Neither of these turns out to be simple.  The issue of working children and child labor has received a great deal of attention from both researchers and policy makers in recent years. Child labor is an extremely important economic and social issue for many reasons.It deprives children of their childhood. In addition,it can adversely affect their physical, mental, and cognitive development. In 2004, the number of working children was estimated to be 218 million in 2004 (ILO 2006). About 14%of the world’s 5-14 year old children were engaged in child labor in 2004. The incidence of child labor(proportion of child labor to number of children)varies across regions with the incidence of child labor being much higher in developing countries.

Child labor is fundamentally a reflection of poverty and weak economic and social institutions. There is strong negative association between poverty and the incidence of child labor.   Child labor is almost unheard of in the developed countries.

  In popular opinion, child labor is often equated with child abuse: children working in very  unsafe and exploitative environment.This has led to widespread demand for banning.

 Fortunately, the incidence of children engaged in the worst forms of child labor such as prostitution,bonded labor is relatively small .

Understanding the varied nature of child labor and its causes are extremely important for policy intervations.